The Simple Things
by sToriTyme
Summary: Sometimes it's just the simple things you do... J/A one-shot


Disclaimer: Simply put, I don't own the Mighty Ducks.

(A/N: So here's the deal, apparently "March Madness" _doesn't_ only apply to basketball. I know that now lol. So I, for one, am glad April's here. It feels like forever since I've written, and I'm sorry to say, I feel rusty. I tried working on "Just Friends" but the break in writing really showed so I'm shifting gears only temporarily. I hope that little pieces like this will get me back on track. This is really just some good old fashioned fluff from my fluff couple J/A. It's not my best and there's no real point to it :) but I'd love your feedback so please review! Good, bad or indifferent- any comment is an appreciated comment! Thanks a heap! –TT)

Summary: Sometimes it's just the simple things you do…

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She sighed and opened her eyes, knowing that no matter how long she held them shut, it wouldn't bring her any closer to the sleep she wanted it. She was exhausted, completely wiped out from the day's events, so why couldn't she fall asleep?

The bed felt too big, the sheets too cold, her solo breath too quiet, her body too free to move…and move…and move. She groaned, frustrated, and pushed the pillows she'd perfectly shaped away from her and onto the floor. That'd been a stupid idea. Of course they weren't going to substitute for him.

And that was her problem in a nutshell. Nothing was ever going to substitute for him. That'd been evident since the time she'd first crawled into bed (a seeming _eternity_ ago) when she couldn't come up with a better-- heck, even a _different_ solution that worked. She just had the one, and he was asleep on the other half of the country.

She looked at the clock and bit her lip. Mentally throwing up her hands, she reached for the phone and dialed his number.

~TST~

A man stirred from the other side of their hotel room. "…Mdum," his sleep-drenched voice distorted by the pillow.

A corresponding mumble barely made it out of his roommate's throat just in reflex to the noise. It didn't serve to stop the buzzing from the mutual nightstand.

"Adam," he said more clearly as the disturbance gradually pulled the sleep from him.

"Mmut?"

"Answer your phone," he grumbled.

Two more breaths came and went as he tried hazily to grasp the meaning to his teammate's words. "…What?" still caked in unconsciousness.

His roommate groped the floor blindly beside his bed for anything to be thrown at Adam in exchange for even the least bit of attentiveness. His find --a tennis shoe he'd kicked off before climbing in-- was soon on its way flying across the room and landing on its target.

"Ow! Hey-" he started to protest when a buzzing caught his attention. "Is that my phone?"

His roommate snorted. "Man thinks 'cause I sit the bench I don't need my sleep," he grumbled as he shifted around to find a comfortable spot to resume his sleep.

Adam shook his head at his teammate and reached for his cell phone. The clock beside it read 3:11. Who would be calling at this time? His answer flashed across the small luminescent screen. He stiffened and frowned as he answered. "Julie?"

~TST~

On the other end, Julie closed her eyes. His voice, alone, brought a wave of warmth and comfort back to her. She smiled releasing the breath she'd held through the million rings she sat through.

"Julie, what's wrong?" Her smile melted into a frown. He was worried. Of course. What other reason would a sane person have for calling this late -or early- except if something was wrong? Simple answer, she _wasn't_ a sane person. She knew this'd been a bad idea.

"No nothing. Nothing's wrong," she assured. The line was quiet a moment and she knew he was confused. Heck, _she_ didn't quite understand why she _had_ to call him now either, why this seemed to be the only remedy to a sleepless night. "…Were you asleep?"

She heard him laugh softly and move around, probably trying to get settled again. "It's the middle of the night, sweetheart. Why would I be doing that?"

Julie knew he was teasing her but she couldn't help but feel bad for calling in the first place. "Sorry," she told him softly.

"Not a problem," she heard the small smile that tugged at his words. "What's up?"

"Oh, um, I…" she blushed.

"…What?"

"I just, well," She took a determined breath and got the words out in spite of the foolish feeling for waking him up to say this. "I just wanted to say, I love you." She gave a small shrug and added softly. "I didn't get to say it enough yesterday."

He paused a moment before chuckling, probably from the ridiculous simplicity of her confession, she thought.

"Julie…"

"Yeah I know. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have-"

"No," he stopped her. "No…thank you," he told her softly, "for calling me."

She smiled and dipped her head down blushing. "You're welcome. I'll let you get back to sleep."

"'Kay," he nodded. "And Julie?"

"Yeah."

"I love you too. I know I could never say that as much as I mean it." He told her sincerely. "I'll see you later today."

Julie nodded and echoed, "Later today."

~TST~

He flipped his phone shut and put it back on the nightstand. With the smile still on his face, he settled back down under the sheets, his eyes focused past the ceiling, his mind already back home. He was convinced. If he'd live a million years with Julie by his side, if they'd tack on an eternity to the one year of marital bliss, he could never stop being surprised by that woman.

She was the sweetest, most sensitive, loving woman he'd ever known. Every gesture, no matter how small, burst with the love she had and shared with him. So even though she only said "I love you" about a _hundred_ times that day, she'd meant it a billion times over and a billion times again.

Before he knew it, he was up and packing his bag. His teammate's snoring picked up as if to compensate for the added noise he was making.

"Hey Mack," he called, tossing the last of his belongings into his bag, and zipped it up. "Mackey." He looked to where his teammate was sleeping. Adam smirked and grabbed the shoe still begging to be returned. He sent is sailing swiftly back to its owner.

"What the-" Mack shot up in alarm only to discover his gym shoe. He ditched the panic for a glare. "Was that _really_ necessary?" Adam laughed. "Seriously, you couldn't have just waited for morning?"

"It _is_ morning, genius." Adam rolled his eyes and slung his bag over his shoulder. "I'm headed home."

"What? _Now_? It's like three something."

"3:15 to be exact. Tell Coach for me?"

"Is something wrong with the Mrs. or something?" he asked, confused.

Adam laughed. "Nope, I just wanna head home."

"You know our flight leaves in just another eight, nine hours, right?"

"Yeah, that's too long."

"And the award ceremony?"

"I think I'll survive without another medal. This isn't the pros. 'Course if you wanted to get it for me…" he smiled.

Mack frowned. "What do I look like, your _errand boy_?"

Adam squinted his eyes and tilted his head as if to explore the question.

Mack rolled his eyes. With a lack in desire to try to figure out his friend at the moment, he huffily turned back over in his bed and started muttering. "Waking me up with your phone calls, throwing _shoes_ at me, making _me _explain this Coach," he grumbled. "This is the _last_ tourney I room with _you_, Banks."

"Yeah, yeah," Adam said laughing. "You have a safe trip too."

~TST~

Julie had felt bad that Adam ultimately had to be woken up so that she could fall asleep—of course not bad enough to keep her from drifting off quickly after hanging up with Adam. With the couple hours added from her day off, she woke up refreshed and ready to start a new day.

The team was scheduled to get in shortly after noon, giving her just enough time tidy up their apartment and maybe do a little something extra with her appearance today before she picked up her husband from the airport and took him to lunch.

She breezed through the apartment; then afterwards, grabbed a quick shower. She was taking the towel to her hair when she heard the front door open. Julie frowned and wrapped her bath robe around her before emerging to investigate.

She froze except for the blink of her eyes. "Adam."

~TST~

He smiled at her surprise, evident in tone and look. "Hey honey."

"You're home early." He nodded. "I thought you weren't-" she gasped. "_Time zones_! Did I get the wrong time?" she turned her head, panicked, looking for the travel sheet.

"No," Adam laughed. "You had the right time. They'll get in this afternoon."

"And you're just four hours early?" she asked him, confused.

"Mm hm," he nodded. "You see," Adam started crossing the room toward her. "I realized I couldn't wait one more _second_ to tell you," he shrugged as his smile grew wider. "I love you."

He wrapped his arms around her waist as she threw hers around his neck and kissed him. When she pulled back, she was smirking. "You know, they did make this newfangled invention called a telephone you could've used."

He pretended to be amazed. "So it _does_ work in the daytime too. Huh," he mused teasingly.

Julie laughed and her cheeks reddened a bit. "Touché." She kissed him again. "I was going to surprise you with a lunch date though."

Adam shrugged. "Then let's go." He thumbed vaguely to the door behind him.

"We can't go now," she laughed.

"Why not?"

"Well for one, no one's serving lunch yet," she smiled. "And for two," she gestured down to her robe-clad appearance. "I haven't even had time to get pretty yet," she joked.

"Cat, you're beautiful," he said. "Always."

She ducked her head a moment shyly, before switching subjects. "Sorry about calling you so late," she whispered.

"You didn't bother me, hun," he told her sincerely.

"You couldn't have gotten much sleep," she guessed, trying to calculate his timeline.

"Well, I wasn't really trying either. I actually left shortly after you called."

"Really?" He nodded and she frowned. "Because of me?"

"Well, kinda I guess. I mean, your voice made me eager to get back home," he smiled and tucked a damp strand of hair behind her ear, "to see you again. I missed you." He placed a kiss on her forehead lovingly. "Unfortunately, the next flight didn't leave until seven though, so I still had to wait a little while. But I guess that _did_ let me grab a couple of z's at the gate until I boarded."

"Aw sweetheart," she sympathized with a frown. She could picture his hockey-built frame trying to make the best out of the thin broken-down padding on the plastic seats, all to see _her_. He was the most selfless, caring, and loving guy she'd ever met. She knew if she'd come across every man on the planet, in the universe, that ever _existed_ even, there'd never be another man more perfect than Adam. He was far too good to her even when she did crazy random stuff to him that cost him things like well-needed rest or the extra money to fly home early just for a couple more hours with her.

The wrinkle in her brow evened out as she looked at his face. His eyes solely shone with the love he held for her and his smile only told of his perfect contentment. He wasn't a bit sorry. She smiled and wrapped her arms tighter around him. "I love you too."

-TT

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Acknowledgements: The inspiration for this fic comes from **Five for Fighting**'s song "I Just Love You" although it's not really based off the song. I don't own it obviously; they do. I hope I just did them some justice.

Thanks for reading!


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